And as if by magic Helen was better again meaning that we could do something together today. We actually had nothing planned and had already decided to see what the port destination was like before deciding.
Katakolon is pretty but tiny and with very little in the way of diversions. The reason the boat stops here at all is because it is the closest port of Olympia, the birth place of the modern olympics. There were organised trips but we had decided that if we went we would do so independently. There is a direct train from Katakolon to Olympia and €10 for a return ticket seemed like a bit of a bargain. So that was decision made.
The train takes 45 minutes and drops you at a tiny station where only the town centre is sign posted and not the main attraction. However, the large number of coaches at the end of the street was a bit of a give away.
The entry free to the archeological site was €6 bringing the total cost to €16, about £13.50 compared to the £42 it would have cost us to take the organised tour from the boat. Of course for that we missed out on having a guide (actually I think that’s a bonus but others may disagree) but you could always buy a guide book.
We had read online that there wasn’t much to look at on the site so were pleasantly surprised to find that what there was covered a large area, although admittedly not much of it rises above ground level these days. We spent an interesting couple of hours wandering through the grounds marvelling, in my case, at the size of what must have been one of the world’s first sports centres.
We arrived back at Katakolon with a great sense of achievement having navigated our way to Olympia and back – something else that
you wouldn’t get it you took the tour.
Tomorrow is our last day on the boat and then we transfer to a hotel on Corfu for a week.
Hello,
I know that Katakolon Olympia train is not very reliable. I cant even find it in official greece train time table. Can you help me, where can i find Katakolo Olympia train timetable for 19th October 2013? Thank You!
Hi, we found it really easy to find the train times once we were there. There is an information office by the port entrance and a sign posted on the platform itself too. The trains themselves were modern and efficient. Your best bet would be to go to the information office and see what the times are for the day you are there. There were also plenty of people offering buses too should the train times not suit.